Keira Knightley, Cara Delevingne, and Naomie Harris call to stop harassment among UK stars

British stars Keira Knightley, Cara Delevingne, Carey Mulligan, Rebecca Ferguson, Naomie Harris, and Emerald Fennell have written an open letter calling for stricter measures against bullying and sexual harassment in the UK entertainment industry.

These six are among 25 individuals urging creative organizations to support funding for a new watchdog, the Creative Industry Independent Standards Authority (CIISA), which will investigate complaints across the music, film, TV, and theater industries.

The letter states: “So many of us in this industry would have loved to have an objective outside body that we could go to for advice, for mediation and in the very extreme circumstances, that we might need some outside body to hold people accountable for the bad behavior or bad practices that sometimes happen on our sets, on our stages, behind the scenes. And we are far from being alone in recognizing this need.”

The signatories also assert that they consider the watchdog to be “a very necessary part of a range of interventions driving for much-needed change.”

Time’s Up U.K. has advocated for an independent standards authority since 2021 and has since led this initiative with backing from the U.K.'s media secretary, Lucy Frazer.

However, funding for the watchdog has been slow. While British broadcasters like ITV, the BBC, and Sky have contributed, CIISA stated that the launch can only proceed by its year-end target date if additional support from major industry bodies is secured.

Actress Ruth Wilson (The Affair, Luther) described the watchdog as “invaluable.” She explained, “I can’t tell you how many times in the last 20 years of my career in this industry that I would have loved to have an objective outside body that I could go to for advice”

In response, BBC chief Tim Davie stated, “CIISA will be a force for good across the entire industry. We all need to do everything we can to create an industry where everyone feels totally safe to do their best work. That’s why the BBC is actively working with others to support its development."